The phrase “all hands on deck” often pops up with our team.

At ITS, we expand “all hands” to include all relevant team members and their full array of skills and interests.

We use this term when we have a chance to challenge our team members to find the best, most creative solution to a situation, through any means necessary.

In our experience, when a team member tries something new, they grow professionally and personally, and they gain a sense of accomplishment.

How do you give your team opportunities for growth? Today, we want to share a story about one of our ITS team members who truly embraced our “all hands on deck” mentality.

The Beginning: Excitement

This story began with the excitement of conference season. Collateral ideas were booming; the creative juices were flowing.

That’s when it hit us: we needed a video about our company to express who we are to conference attendees.

ITS doesn’t currently employ an official videographer, so we were left with three options. We could use an existing video, we could find a vendor and outsource the work, or we could use no video at all.

But then the fourth option occurred to us: all hands on deck.

We could find a team member who has demonstrated an interest in video production and challenge them to explore that interest, acquire a new skillset, and expand their knowledge while producing a video for ITS.

The Middle: A Challenge

For this challenge to be successful, we needed to go beyond the usual process of checking internal resources and assigning tasks.

We also needed to tap into our knowledge of ITS team members—including what types of tasks excite them and what their strengths and hobbies are outside of the office.

We know our team well, so we knew who to engage for this project. It just so happens that our human resource administrator doubles as a passionate in-house photographer and mastermind of design.

We knew that this team member is enthusiastic about creative work, so we offered them an opportunity outside of their normal job description.

Not only did they take the task head-on, but they did so using key strategies. They:

• Evaluated innovative technology options.
• Took online courses to further their learning.
• Learned new skills and applied advanced design techniques.

The End: Result, Rinse, Repeat

To the leaders out there: The result of our team member’s dedication to a new endeavor was a fantastic video—one that we, as a company, could not be more excited to share with our community.  

But a second, equally important result was the team member’s own development. We witnessed their eagerness to branch out, take advantage of a challenge, and learn a new technology. We saw the magic that happens when their personal interests perfectly align with a professional opportunity.

If you currently have your own “all hands on deck” project, look for an inspired team member. Encourage them to recruit their range of talents, investigate options for self-education, and carve out their own creative solution to the problem.

To the team members out there: Don’t be afraid to pursue a challenge, even if it’s outside of your traditional responsibilities or comfort zone. You may be surprised at what you learn!

And you may find that your newly acquired skills unlock even more exciting opportunities.

The Video

You didn’t think we would let you go without a look at the final product, did you?

Video designed and edited by: Maili